


After Life

by Solrey



Series: After Life - The Videogame [1]
Category: TREASURE (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Developing Friendships, Elemental Magic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Fantasy Game Setting, Fighting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Guilds, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Magical Realism, Major Character Injury, Minor Injuries, Near Death Experiences, No Smut, Open-World, Panic Attacks, Possible Character Death, RPG, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Spells & Enchantments, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, Treasure becomes something like a family, Video Game Mechanics, Virtual Reality, Weapons, protecting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28366578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solrey/pseuds/Solrey
Summary: A magical world, that is After life, a game made on virtual reality, an experience that differs not from the real world. Yet the players are unable to leave but why?Twelve boys have stumbled into this world without a memory of how and why. Twelve young men who have enough of being chess figures in game of their disadvantage- they want answers.But will they get them, and if so, are those the answers they search for or will those true words shake everything they had ever known?Follow the twelve on their long journey, see them grow and falter, until they can finally reach for the star.
Relationships: Choi Hyunsuk/Kanemoto Yoshinori, Hamada Asahi/Yoon Jaehyuk, Park Jeongwoo/Watanabe Haruto, Park Jihoon/Takata Mashiho
Series: After Life - The Videogame [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098596
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	After Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to my next new, big project! (After my Ateez one :o)
> 
> This is a story completely made by me, the world, the classes, the story. It /is/ inspired by many anime or games in this genre, so you might see some paralles.   
> That being said, yes, relationships between the characters are important for the story but my focuse is mostly on the story and the progress of it. The chapters will be long, I thought of chapters between 9k-15k words, depending on who appears and what part of the story they are at.
> 
> And yes, all twelve will get their fair share of parts in this story! So it. will. be. long. My guess right now is that this story might become 150k words or longer, so buckle up for a ride. :)

"Welcome to After Life!

Each player will get equipped with the necessaries for a beginner, please make sure to check your inventory as soon as you spawn. The location you will wake up at is randomly chosen and cannot be changed. So we advise you to explore and sight your spawn point well, it might be of help later.

"There are a few rules to keep an eye on, player. Those are:

No. 1: No one is allowed---"

_Huh? What? Hey!_

"No. 2: After every---" 

_Wait a minute! I can't hear what you're saying!_

"No. 3: Goal---"

_What? What goal are you talking about? Where am I?! What is this?_

"Dear Player, after you have listened to the rules and taken them to heart, you shall now choose the name other players can recognize you with. It is allowed to use your real name but player please keep in mind that a name change cannot be done afterwards, choose wisely." 

_Name? I don’t understand?!_

“Dear Player, leaving the space empty is not a valid name, which results in us using your real name as your in-game name. We hope the decision is alright with you.” 

_Nothing is alright! Tell me where I am!_

“The class for you has been chosen already, player. Soon you will be transported to the world of After Life. We hope you can enjoy your stay and hope to see you soon.

Farwell.”

⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅

For a moment the world was shrouded in darkness, so pitch black he couldn’t see a thing, even his arms seemed to vanish when they were outstretched, swallowed by nothing and everything at the same time. Fingers trying to grasp something where nothing was.

There was no infront and no behind. No up and down. 

It felt like a cage, slowly embracing him further until bars were cutting into his body, painfully taking away his breath. The darkness was swallowing him, it was as if he was sinking and drowning at the same time with only one knowledge - that he wasn’t able to escape yet death wouldn't come. Or so he thought. If there was nothingness engulfing him, wasn’t he part of it already? So maybe he was already dead- 

Until the darkness explosively vanished- twinkles of white fell down around him, shimmering golden hues. He needed to blink fast to accommodate to the sudden brightness all-around. 

What had previously been dark and  impenetrable was now shimmering golden due to the early morning sun as he noticed, particles falling slowly towards the ground. A glance around himself and he noticed that the darkness had faded into what seemed to be a grassland, only at the furthest end trees and what looked like a bridge. The sun was behind him, sky piercing blue, cloud free and illuminating everything around him in this golden shine, the particles now fully dispersing. 

It took a moment before he could grasp that this wasn’t his home, and neither a place he had been to previously. Was this really a game?

A look around. Watching his surroundings intensely. He came to the conclusion that the world around him looked a bit too  _ good  _ to be real, every little detail seemed to be perfect. From the grass up towards the sky. 

If this was indeed a game he had been brought to, he thought, then basic things should work. Right?

One more glance around before he tried to open the in-game menu and surprisingly, it functioned. He had followed a hunch, nothing more than an idea when he was apparently now in a  _ game  _ but for it to work? Maybe it was the gamer in him that gave him the right idea on how to approach this. 

A blue hologram appeared in front of him displaying his character, name and abilities besides health and mana bars. A quick overlook told him that he had, as of now, no possibility to level up or level his abilities, everything off-limits for now. The little lock on everything. 

He tried to reach the hologram. To his surprise, yet again, he was actually able to touch it, letting his fingers glide over his name. 

_ Player _ _ : Junghwan  _

A player. In a virtual video game. 

How did this happen? Junghwan couldn’t remember how he got here, only how he was greeted by the hologram of a young woman who introduced the world’s rules to him. She looked a lot like fantasy characters he knew out of video games such as League of Legends or Genshin Impact. Yeah, probably a mix out of those types of games. Maybe a bit of SAO mixed in.

Not that he looked much different. A look down revealed the clothing they had chosen for him.

His clothes seemed to be heavily inspired by medieval wizard take on’s. A long dark blue cape fell down his back and was pulled over his head, while underneath an almost ground touching black robe was held together by a similar blue colored belt- he felt more like a monk than a wizard if would need to be honest. 

Only then did he notice the golden symbols all over the edges of his cape and sleeves. What were they called again?

_ Runes _ . Junghwan had seen them being used in a few of his video games. Though he had to wonder why he had been given the role of a wizard when he normally likes to play other characters, who- 

Junghwan shook his head, trying to get out of his head. 

He was currently in the middle of nowhere and thought only of the games he had played? That wouldn’t let him survive for a long time, especially since the game’s rules weren’t clearly said for him. 

Which was weird in its own way. Who would program such a realistic game when it had a bug from the very beginning?  _ Weird _ . 

Why was he in a game in the first place? Junghwan couldn’t remember, no matter how hard he tried.

Right now, he told himself, should he seek for any kind of city or village to get an overview and the basic items, food especially. If playing survival and rpg games taught him one thing, then it was to always be prepared. The answer to why he was here wouldn’t magically appear before him so Junghwan had to play along for now and not die. 

_ Not die _ . He could do that. 

With a certain determination in his step, did Junghwan start walking, the sun behind him while he set out to reach the bridge he thought he had sawn. Out to an adventure he wasn’t sure where it would lead him but everything was better than being rooted at his spawn point and doing nothing until night came around.

His feet became a bit faster at the thought.

_ At night the strong beasts come out.  _

⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅

The earth was shaking beneath their feet with each step the monster took, a gigantic foot slamming close to Jihoon’s own legs onto the ground, deeply sinking into the normally solid dirt. It was as if gravity was put out of function for a moment, so high was Jihoon lifted up from the ground due to the sheer strength in the giant’s feet. 

The way down was painful, face first back into the hard dirt. He whimpered brokenly at the contact, remaining still, trying to blend out the immense pain.

Jihoon needed a moment to regain his breath, to let his eyes focus on something, anything, that wasn’t brown and green. Ears were ringing due to the adrenaline rushing through his body while his mind was all over the place. In the end it was the hyperventilating of his best friend Hyunsuk which his focus narrowed on, the pained whimpers of a man he vowed to protect, even though - if he was honest – he wasn’t exactly braver as in any way.

One of the only people for whom he tried to stay alive for as long as possible, never straying far away even when Hyunsuk was perfectly fine and capable of doing things on his own.

This one man was currently a few feet away from him if Jihoon calculated it right and was most likely frozen, the shook over the whole situation must have hit the alchemist hard.

With his head spinning and the giant’s fool smell piercing through his nose, wasn’t it exactly easy to lift himself up again, Jihoon’s arms shaking due to the panic taking control over his mind and body. But he tried, he  _ had  _ to, people relied on him. 

He hadn't been nearly crushed by a gigantic foot only to give up as soon as he could move again. It strained his body but Jihoon had to try.

It was Yoshinori’s voice which in the end gave him the last bit of energy to fully push himself up.

“He’s gone! Apparently he didn’t notice us at all!”

That gave Jihoon somehow an energy boost, his eyes looking at his own health bar which appeared in the hologram of his menu. He was down to 67% health- good enough. With shaking legs he finally made it up even though his head was spinning for a moment but Jihoon found his balance and walked over to where Hyunsuk was.

Yoshinori already kneeled next to a shaking Hyunsuk who was still as weak as a leaf, not even taking notice when Jihoon kneeled in front of him, waving as a test. No reaction, not even a blink of his eyelashes. The healer gazed at Jihoon, taking in his appearance before fully dividing his attention back on the shaking alchemist.

Hyunsuk’s health bar was up to 85% which means he was not really physically hurt, the few missing percentage of his health had been there for a while now since they had no money for health pots yet and they had wanted to save Yoshinori’s mana. 

Jihoon felt a wave of relief washing over him that his best friend was at least not hurt besides the shock he had experienced. 

Sure, Jihoon felt his whole body aching in pain, was surely covered over and over in bruises however, he was at least thinking straight- for now. Meaning he had to think for two people now.

“Suk?” Jihoon tried again, this time holding his wrist gently, trying to pry it away from the ground where his finger’s dug deep into the grass beneath. “Earth to Choi Hyunsuk. Come one Suk, come back to us.”

The two of them shared a worried gaze when Hyunsuk still refused to meet their gazes or even acknowledge their presence. It was one thing to be scared which happened with Hyunsuk more often than not, this was a fantasy world after all and not all creatures walking this virtual planet were nice and fluffy. Yet, it pained them both to see the little leader of their group so vulnerable.

“We have to get him out of here.”

“I know but how?”

Yoshinori was already casting a calming spell on the shaking man before them and only then did Jihoon notice that Yoshinori’s washed out blond hair was tainted in red. His usual white attire, his cloak and shirt were stained with dirt and torn apart at some places, a silver necklace he had kept around his neck missing completely. When did that happen-

“Yoshi?! You’re bleeding!”

That made the other jerk, a groan leaving his mouth due to the pain suddenly washing over his body at the movement. Better tell him than let him in the thought that everything was fine, Jihoon feared this way Yoshinori would never notice. Not noticing a bleeding was way too dangerous.

Jihoon had made that discovery in a painful way.

The hologram came up easily and showed him that Yoshinori was down to 49%, 48%,  _ 47%.  _ Yoshinori’s bleeding was strong. 

So Jihoon looked around, through the trees the giant had thrown over as if they were toys to play with and worriedly gazed at the deep footsteps pressed into the cold, hard ground by gigantic feet. The image of getting crushed like this made him shiver involuntarily.

Gazed up at the sky, noticing that it was still clear, no signs of clouds anywhere. It wasn’t too late yet to run back into the safety of their city and get help, to find someone who would help them, even if it would cost them a few gold coins. Rather lose some stupid gold instead of his friend’s lives.

Respawning was a rather tiring, exhausting thing to do and Jihoon had only gone through that once, not having the need to ever repeat that. And especially not let his friends suffer this fate.

“It’s okay, Ji. Really, don’t worry.”

Yoshinori sounded so exhausted now, Jihoon saw why when he focused back on his two companions.

“Stop casting a spell on him, dumbass. Working yourself to death while you’re bleeding is the last thing I want! And Hyunsuk wouldn’t want that either.”

43%.

His friend looked torn, not knowing which decision would be the right one. But after a certain hard gaze from Jihoon did Yoshinori give up, letting his hands fall down. Just then, the exhaustion crawled up his face. Eyes dropping due to heavy lids, skin looking ashen. It came so abruptly but foreseeable that Jihoon almost feared he had to catch Yoshinori before he fell. 

He didn’t. But the younger still sat down against a tree next to Hyunsuk’s still shaking body.

38%. Jihoon gulped. 

The way Yoshinori held his gaze on Hyunsuk scared Jihoon a little – so far away and accepting-

That’s the moment Jihoon slowly started freaked out. 

Being out in the woods to farm a little gold had as a result that his best friend was currently too much into his panicked headspace to even notice him while his other friend and the healer of their group was bleeding to death. All they had wanted was a coin or two and some items to sell so they could bring up the money they needed to finally open up a guild, even if it would be a small one. It had been their dream from moment one – building a place for safety, where one liked to come home to and would prepare everything to go out as a party to bring up their reputation.

To slowly gain popularity but never lose the sight of their original goal. Maintain who they were while financing their future projects.

They had gotten the tip to hunt the boars which roamed just outside of the barrier of the city, past the part where no monster could ever enter a city. 

After discussions, they all had agreed that the three of them would be strong enough to hunt the boars. They were strong enough, for sure, but they had lost track of time and way, and had soon found themselves in the depths of the forest around Aurora, the city they currently stayed in.

Boars had never been a problem, neither for Jihoon nor Hyunsuk, and especially not Yoshinori since he always stood behind them, healed and enchanted them. Together they worked like a unit even if Hyunsuk’s throwing skills needed some polishing and Jihoon sometimes struggled with his dark, necromantic magic. Still, they had believed in each other, ready to take the challenge head on.

To be almost kicked on the ground by a giant hadn’t been part of their plan. Neither was the close call where Jihoon had seen beneath the giant’s feet, barely getting out of the way before a massive spit drop would’ve hit him. How Yoshinori had been hit, Jihoon couldn’t grasp that right now.

But it was obvious that something had hit him when the giant had waltzed through the forest like everything was just a pebble on his way. Probably was it exactly that. Those monsters had barely functioning brains. Jihoon hated those.

Now, he hated them even more, hated the whole reason why they had come and why they had wandered so deep. It was Jihoon’s fault through and through, hadn’t he been the one who had deemed it necessary to run after a wounded boar just because he couldn’t kill it at the first try. Damned be his pride to get things done the right way.

Jihoon freaked out. Heart racing, sweat running down his face. What should he do?

_ What could he do? _

“Yoshi, hey, look at me.”

Jihoon pleaded, slowly crawling over to his friend who was barely able to shift the gaze to him. Yoshinori tried to say something but not a single word left his mouth. Fear struck his core. Was Yoshinori  _ dying _ ?

25%.

“No, no, no!”

That couldn’t be. He couldn’t lose his friend, not in this way. They might never find each other again, respawn points randomly set in the world and they weren’t allowed to add friends in their menu. So what to do?

“Talk to me Yoshinori. Don’t die on us! On me!”

He tried to reason, to crawl even closer and was about to cradle the healer’s face when he heard steps echoing back through the forest, the fear inside of him intensifying. What if the giant was back to end what it had begun? Jihoon couldn’t think clearly, tried to shield his friends from whatever was on the way to them.

And jerked heavily when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!”

A voice said slightly high-pitched. It took a moment before Jihoon noticed that this voice surely didn’t belong to the giant. Heck, a giant couldn’t even talk. And their hands were bigger than Jihoon’s entire body. So,  _ who _ ?

“Hyung you scared the poor guy.”

“I know Ruto, I  _ saw. _ ”

That made Jihoon snort out of habit, slapping a hand over his mouth in the next second.

“Did he just-“

“That isn’t important right now!” The one who spoke first argued behind his back and Jihoon slowly got the feeling that it might be safe to turn around, to face whoever had just run up to him. “I heard you screaming. And- Your friend is bleeding! His health bar is so low! I can help if you want? I have health potions with me, some expensive, well working ones.”

Now that made Jihoon’s defence crumble. He turned on his knees, still wary of his surroundings only to be met by not one but two young men who looked at him as if  _ they  _ were in big distress.

One of them was tall, black haired and clad over and over in heavy looking armour, even though he seemed to move just fine and with one hand on the handle of his sword. Jihoon’s first idea was a warrior class. The other one was smaller, had brown slightly curled hair and looked less intimidating. He had a cape draped over his shoulders while the clothes beneath were colored in dark purple and green, certain signs of defensive classes. Maybe-

“Uh-? Hello? Can you hear us? Can he hear us, hyung? He seems so out of it.”

“Of course he can hear us, he just turned around to us, didn’t he? He might still be shocked about the giant and- No, don’t distract me Haruto.” The smaller hissed before he turned to Jihoon. “Can I help your friend? Please, he doesn’t seem like he holds on much longer.”

Jihoon glanced back at Yoshinori, weighed the possibility if the strangers would do any harm and came to the conclusion that if Yoshinori died, he would lose most of his stuff anyway and Jihoon could defend himself if needed to, so why not try. Giving a solution a try where his friend could be saved didn’t sound all that bad.  _ Hopefully. _

When he saw the number drop to 17% he knew had no other choice.

“I- yeah, okay.” Jihoon breathed out, making way for the smaller one of the two. “But no funny business.”

His mind was racing, running through all the possible scenarios after he had made space about what the smaller could do to his friend, thinking about what to do if everything went wrong. But everything had gone wrong anyways, weren’t they in a bad situation before already, so what could make it worse now? Jihoon was already on the verge of losing Yoshinori for the first time while Hyunsuk hadn’t moved an inch, still the shaking leaf from before.

And it hurt. Seeing the only people in this game giving a fuck about him both so hurt, one dying while the other had been inflicted with so much fear that he had shut down.

So, where does this leave Jihoon at? Right, on the ground of a forest with two strangers suddenly popping up from which one said he could help Yoshinori. But could he really? The fear over his friends made Jihoon blindly agree. Yet, when he saw how the smaller kneeled next to Yoshinori who could barely keep his eyes open, was the feeling of a wrong decision back up in his heart. Hadn’t he decided wrong just earlier? Who was he to decide again, and again, and _again_ over his friends and their lives.

Hadn't he caused enough suffering in his life?

It was the moment when the stranger pressed the health potion bottle against Yoshinori’s li ps, nudging his head back so he would actually drink it, when Jihoon almost scrambled over weren’t it for the warrior guy who weld him back by his shoulder – but as Jihoon noticed without any force, it was just a warm hand using the bare minimum.

At that point it was too late to change anything, had the liquid not been completely vanishing within Yoshinori’s mouth. It took Jihoon a couple of seconds before he registered that the liquid had been green- a certified health potion. 

Then they waited. Waited to see if the potion had any effect or if they had been too late. The smaller guy was looking back between Jihoon and Yoshinori a couple of times, sometimes looking up at the boy he had called  _ Haruto _ if Jihoon remembered it right.

Jihoon thought he could hear the ticking of a clock in his ears while he waited, anxious if Yoshinori made it, worrying about how much longer Hyunsuk would be locked away in his headspace of fear. Wasn’t able to dodge the thoughts about  _ what _ he would do if he lost not only one but both of his friends on the same day,  _ what  _ he would do without them. How had he even survived long enough to even meet them? Surely, Jihoon had died before and went through the painful act of respawning, yet he couldn’t remember how it was before. Before he had met them. Had he seen dying as the fatal thing it was now to him? 

Not that he wanted to know it. Not anymore.

Then, as if on cue, came the colour back to Yoshinori’s face, the previously ashen skin began to look richer and more natural again, his eye-lids fluttered. Eyes closing completely. For a moment Jihoon was in trance, couldn’t move, couldn’t think-

“Yoshi?!”

He crawled over, shook the body of his friend, trying to wake him up. Asking over and over again if the other could hear him, say something, anything just so that Jihoon’s mind could rest.

“Yoshi-“

“Ji…?”

A soft whisper left his friend’s lips and Jihoon felt like crying. Actually crying. Yoshinori’s eyes were fluttering, not yet staying open but rather trying to do so, and Jihoon cradled the other’s face in his hands, only then noticing that no more blood was running down his hair. A quick glance up showed that his health was slowly recovering.

“Should we help you carry them?”

Jihoon hears the warrior ask him, his deep voice echoing back in his mind.

Should he trust the strangers once more? Give it a try? Believing in the good was never a bad character trait, only naïve sometimes.

“That would be helpful, thank you.”

That’s how it came that two young men carried Yoshinori, walking with him while he was in a half-awake-half-asleep state, mumbling every once in a while a name Jihoon knew all too well but decided to not comment on. Jihoon had, after a lot of coaxing and talking, gotten Hyunsuk to his feet and was walking behind the two strangers, their steps slower but also less coordinated. The elder lost his balance once in a while, almost falling to the ground and pulling Jihoon with him if it weren’t for Jihoon’s magic, black ropes which shoot out from the ground beneath held Hyunsuk up right until he was able to safely walk again. Jihoon thanked his magic silently.

It was only when they passed the city entrance of Aurora when Jihoon remembered that they had no bed for the night, they had only rented it for the last night and had wanted to go and search for another today, only that this wasn’t possible anymore. How could he get a good price with two more or less injured people that screamed  _ I can’t pay  _ to any guesthouse owner?

Maybe it was the torn apart feelings mirroring on Jihoon’s face or just a hunch but the smaller one turned around after they had entered the gate and asked him with a warm smile:

“Do you have a place where you can stay for the night? I guessed you might be travellers if you got surprised by the giant, the locals know it by now.”

Smart. Jihoon had to give it to the boy, he was surely not one of the dumb-kind.

“What will you do with the information? Steal everything we possess?”

“If that would have been my original goal, I would’ve had Haruto knock you out and let the monsters of the forest do the rest for us. Also, who would be stupid enough to reveal the name of their accomplice?”

“It could be a fake name.”

“A pretty useless move if I would have left you to die.”

“Why are you so smart witted, kid.”

“I’m a strategist- or better my class is. And I’m not a kid!”

Jihoon laughed, feeling lighter now that they had somewhat broken the ice and awkward tension. A strategist suited the kid, who he assumed wasn’t older than 18, maybe 19, yet already wise and well spoken. 

“Alright mr. strategist, it would help us out if we could crash at your place for a couple of nights, at least until both of them are back on track again.” 

The smart witted kid gave him a thumbs up and nodded into a direction further down the road. 

It took a while for the five of them to finally get back to the boy’s little house they had apparently rented for a few weeks like Haruto explained to him. Though the question of  _ why  _ from Jihoon had never been answered. 

Jihoon thanked the god above that those two strangers had found them in the forest and had been kind enough to not only heal them back up but also offer to let them stay for a few nights. That wasn't typical behavior for players in this world, Jihoon had found out about that before and wasn't fond of the memory at all. 

With Haruto's help they laid Yoshinori down on one of the bedding while they gave Hyunsuk a chair to sit down. The eldest was still ashen, fingers painfully clawed into his pants while eyes stared unfocused at a point no one saw besides him. 

Jihoon fell exhausted into another chair, eyes casted at the ceiling. His body was screaming at him to sleep, eat, warm up and never go out again. Everything hurt, only his heart a bit more. 

"Haruto, can you go and buy a few ingredients from the market? We have to feed a few extra mouths today."

"Sure hyung, what do you need."

He listened to the smart witted kid listing up a couple of things before the soft sound of tinkling gold coins echoed through the room. For a moment the noise from outside fell into the room before Haruto pulled the door close behind him. Silence filled the room once more. The only audible thing was Yoshinori’s soft breathing.

"So-" 

The smart kid interrupted the silence way too fast and when Jihoon sat up right was the other already across from him, a small smile on his lips.

"So?"

"So."

"You are weird, kid."

"Or so I have been told, glad we agree." The other chuckles. "I think we have not introduced each other yet, so I thought we should at least exchange formalities."

"Well, you're right on that one. I'm Jihoon, a mage. The one you healed is Yoshinori, our actual healer, it was a bit unfortunate I have to say. The oldest of our group is Hyunsuk, who is usually a good leader but he has his weaknesses as you can see. I take over when he can’t."

"Being almost trampled upon and being killed is surely a terrifying situation."

"That it is."

"What's his actual class?" 

Jihoon had to laugh at the question because thinking back at Hyunsuk using his abilities was always peak comedy.

"An alchemist but have you ever seen someone who  _ can't  _ actually throw the things they made because they simply can't  _ throw _ ? Funniest thing you would ever see." 

That made the other quirk an eyebrow, glancing over to the silent Hyunsuk.

"He can't throw? How's that possible."

"Don't ask me boy, I met him this way. Once he threw a sleeping potion and hit a poor bystander who immediately fell asleep, the town's mayor banned us from ever setting another foot in there." 

"That's some harsh punishment."

"If you had known the circumstances, you would've done the same." Jihoon shrugged, smiling at the memory of the eventful day. "Anyways, what's up with you two."

"What should be up with us?"

The kid slowly got out of his cloak and put it over his chair, brushing over it to make it neat before looking back at Jihoon, raising an eyebrow at him as if demanding him to say what was  _ up  _ with them even though Jihoon had asked. He stared at the boy for a moment, wondering how many steps a strategist was usually ahead of his own thoughts. 

When was the last time he had seen and had contact with a strategist? That must have been months ago at this point but he all too well remembers how easily the other’s outsmarted him when it came to foreseeing things. Not that they were any kind of medium, but the way strategists thought was complicated and hardly to follow for any normal person.

"Let's start with your names, don't we? That way we could at least call each other by our given names because I keep on calling you  _ kid  _ in my mind."

The  _ kid  _ huffed annoyed, glancing at him with a sort of sulky expression. It was kind of cute. A tiny bit. Just maybe.

"I am no child, I'm already eighteen!"

"Alright mister  _ 'I'm an adult' _ ." 

The  _ adult _ glared at him and turned his head away, the silence tense for a second before both began to laugh, their amusement echoing back and only intensifying their laughs even more. It took several moments before they slowly gasped for breath, the boy whipping away the tears out of his eyes. 

Out of breath he said: "My name is Yedam and my friend's name is Haruto." 

"Pleasure to meet you, Yedam." 

Jihoon answered a bit out of breath, still feeling his stomach hurt after the fit of laughter. 

“So why are you here? Renting an entire house for a few weeks is damn expensive, so you must have a reason.” Jihoon somewhat sobered up and looked at Yedam. 

“Reasons I cannot disclose to you.” Yedam said with a sass in his voice Jihoon wouldn’t have guessed was possible. Or polite. 

“Interesting, if you say so,  _ kid. _ ”

“Stop calling me kid!” 

“Nope.” Jihoon popped the ‘pe’ and saw the sulky expression coming back on Yedam’s face. 

He tried to see, to guess on why those two were here and spending so many gold coins for a house to  _ rent  _ and not  _ own. _ There must be a bigger reason behind it, and Jihoon would eventually find it out, his fingers already fidging. Right now, however, he had to play along and be the nice guest to have his friends survive. Whatever the reason was, in the long run Jihoon knew how to get information out of people- he just needed their trust.

"Your wounded friend, Yoshinori was it, is already back at 60% health. I think he will be fully recovered for tonight's dinner." Yedam thought out loud while he stood up and walked over to the kitchen, rummaging through shelves to prepare the needed utensils. "But what do we do about your other friend?"

That was something Jihoon wanted to know himself. Sure, Hyunsuk had his little panic attacks once in a while and freaked out at scary things but a reaction this intense? Absolutely new.

At the same time a thought manifested in Jihoon’s brain which was unconventional and surely not the right approach but an approach nonetheless. It was one thing if Yedam would deem him as crazy but Jihoon was determined to try. 

"Hyunsuk has one big weakness he isn't aware of yet." Jihoon laughed when he said that, slowly standing up before pulling his chair next to Hyunsuk. "And as weird as it sounds, it's Yoshinori." 

A clatter of things was to hear and Jihoon looked past Hyunsuk over to the kitchen where a wide eyed Yedam was looking at him.

"What?"

"I- no, nothing..?" Yedam coughs before turning back around. "I just never met someone before who was into- you know-"

"Guys?" 

Jihoon tried to help him and the whole situation was just amusing. The way a massive blush was on Yedam’s cheeks now. He knew the boy didn't mean it bad, it was probably just a teens reaction who was not entirely sure on how to react to it. Which was understandable, he had been at that point before. Jihoon could almost believe the poor boy was someone who could be into guys himself. 

"Yeah, of course love is love, it's just-"

"No need to justify yourself here Yedam. As long as you don't think it's disgusting I can live with whatever opinion you have."

"Love is universal, that's what I think."

Yedam got quiet and Jihoon was about to get up and tell this young guy to not worry about stuff like this when said boy turned back around, a beaming smile on his lips and eyes twinkling.

"So he might like Yoshinori? How do you plan on using this?" 

Ah, _that_ got the kid's attention. Well, Jihoon might not have been the most talented mage but even a middle class like him had a trick up his sleeve. This one was a spell he had used once or twice before but never on his friend so he hoped it would be a success once more. 

"Nothing that you can see."

Because part of Jihoon’s magic included not being seen. 

With a hand against Hyunsuk’s head he whispered a spell he hadn’t used in a while and was glad he could still recite it perfectly, felt his magic slowly sinking into Hyunsuk’s mind and vanishing into every nook as if it was searching for something specific, and maybe it was. 

Jihoon directed the magic inside of Hyunsuk’s mind so carefully, it felt like walking on a thin wire. The ends of his magic touching what usually was off-limits. 

Dreams. Day dreams the same way it touched nightmares- he could invade them all. 

There was nothing destructive about Jihoon’s overall ability to enter dreams or visions, it was more of a spell to  _ change  _ thoughts when needed. And this was what they needed right now. Hyunsuk needed other thoughts, other images in his mind to get him out of his trance. So, Jihoon put him asleep. 

The dream he was showing Hyunsuk was something Jihoon thought would help his friend. A positive, almost cheesy dream of Hyunsuk with Yoshinori. Jihoon thought not too much about it. 

He left the dream almost immediately after he had created it, for Yedam it could have been only seconds. Jihoon smiled when he saw Hyunsuk’s eyes had closed and was about to fall from the chair if Jihoon hadn’t caught him in time. He gave his best friend a soft pat on his head before he scooped him up and brought him to the other empty bed he assumed was Haruto’s. 

Jihoon felt his heart ache when he saw how peacefully Hyunsuk was sleeping now, finally, after he had found a method to bring him out of the trance. And he hoped from the bottom of his heart that the dream he had sent him was something that could shoo away the negativity of the day and replace it by something better. Something brighter. 

Yedam came over the moment Jihoon stood up and placed a cool towel over Hyunsuk’s head because the eldest had run a bit hot- probably due to Jihoon’s magic and-

_ Yedam had noticed this side effect?  _

He stared at the strategist with wide eyes. Jihoon couldn’t believe that a spell like Jihoon’s which had been done within seconds was enough for Yedam to understand the situation and react upon. That he had seen Hyunsuk’s health status getting updated with  _ fever  _ within seconds. Was that even possible?

Or was this boy way more powerful than he had originally thought?

Just when he was about to ask about it, a breeze came through, they both turned to the door which revealed a boy packed with groceries and other stuff. Yedam moved over and guided the other inside before closing the door after him while Jihoon helped the younger and took a few things out of his hands. 

Apples, lettuce, cucumbers, meat, seasoning- the young warrior had bought everything for a good meal for five people, no wonder he was packed. Both Yedam and Jihoon gasped in shock when Haruto even brought out the things he had stored in his inventory, showing that he had bought a lot. Probably too much. Did he want to feed them through a winter? Or better, recreate the Grimm’s fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. Feed them until they could be cooked-

“Haruto- did you buy the market empty?” Yedam laughs when he sees that Haruto was finally done with bringing items out of his inventory and was now proceeding to take off his armour. Haruto pouted at his words. 

“No. I just bought enough so no one needs to starve.” The warrior whines and Jihoon laughs at the cute reaction, not believing that a boy with such a deep voice and intimidating looks could whine so cutely. Jihoon decided to adopt him, he would just not tell him about it. 

“Ah, Haru~ Okay, let’s just use what we have and prepare a good meal so everyone can eat well tonight. Especially our guests after they had such a stressful day.”

Yedam ruffles Haruto’s hair and together the two begin to cook something, hand in hand working as if they had never done something else. And this gives Jihoon a bit of peace knowing that even such normal things like cooking together were possible in a world of virtuality. That two people could understand each other this good even though they might never see each other outside of the game. 

Jihoon side eyes Hyunsuk, caresses his friend’s cheek before he decides to crash the guys little cooking session to help them out. 

A little into their cooking session - which ended up with a lot of burned food because both boys had apparently not a good hand when it came to cooking and with Jihoon stepping in to save the food - did Yoshinori wake up. Jihoon almost bolted when he heard the rustle of sheets and a low groan. 

The moment after he stood next to the bed, holding Yoshinori’s hand. His friend squeezed it first before he opened his eyes. It took Yoshinori a couple of seconds before his eyes seemed to focus and when they did, he moved his head sideways, looking up at Jihoon and smiling oh so carefully. And that alone made Jihoon’s heart both break due to pain and jump due to happiness. Yoshinori was still pale and his health bar was only up to 81% but it was already enough for Jihoon to see that the health potion had worked good enough for Yoshinori to wake up.

“Hey Yoshi, slept well?” 

Yoshinori smiles at him before he nodded slowly, already looking way happier after seeing Jihoon. 

“Good.” He sounds like he’s drunk of sleep but gestures Jihoon to help him up despite being a bit out of it. 

“Are you sure you want to get up already? You just woke up.” Jihoon asks him softly. 

The younger nods and even though Jihoon is against it, does he help the other to carefully sit up, steading him with a hand on his back. The other smiles at him. Jihoon had missed this smile. After the fear of potentially losing Yoshinori, he couldn’t stop savouring the happiness he felt after seeing it again. Wanted to grasp this little moment after the hectic day they had. 

Haruto appeared next to them after a few seconds of silence, handing Yoshinori a glass of water. His friend looks surprised at seeing the young warrior but thanks him quietly, nibbling the water and taking his time with it. Jihoon shares a quick glance with Haruto before the younger goes back to help Yedam in the kitchen. 

“Where are we?” Is the first question Yoshinori asks after he had emptied the gl ass halfway, fingers holding the glass so delicately. Those were the moments Jihoon understood why Yoshinori had been given the class of a healer, the other was just too soft and nice to be anything else but someone who likes to support others. 

“In a house in Aurora, we are safe here.” Jihoon adds when Yoshinori lets his eyes wander through the house slowly. “Those two you see there in the kitchen-” Jihoon points at them and Yoshinori follows his finger, “-are the ones who found us in the middle of the forest and helped me get you two here. Can you recollect any of that?” 

His friend stares at the two for a moment before he shakes his head, looking back at Jihoon with a questioning gaze. 

“I- to be honest it was quite… a close call with you. I thought you would bleed to death. One of them gave you a strong heal potion and thus your health went up and saved you.” 

Jihoon felt how his eyes got a bit misty, the feelings he had pushed away the last hours to not feel any of the pain and be strong for his friends resurfaced now and threatened to wash him away. A hand caressed his face. He had to collect all of his strength to not bawl like a child, to give in into the feelings he  _ had  _ to bury in order to be the strong person his friends needed. 

“Thank you, Ji.” 

Ah, maybe Yoshinori was one of his weaknesses too. The soft tone of the younger’s voice alone was enough to make Jihoon’s heart shift, the fear of potentially losing both of them forever engraved in his heart now. 

“How’s .. Hyunsuk?” 

Jihoon rubbed his eyes before looking at the other and felt his heart sink even further. The spark of worry and fear in Yoshinori’s eyes was so vivid that it hurt Jihoon. Sometimes he wished those two idiots would just talk over their feelings and stop dancing around each other like headless chickens. 

“He’s sleeping right now. I hope he wakes up and remembers nothing, it would be the best if we could just let this be and never talk about it again.” Jihoon says when he sits down on the bed, his voice getting more quiet so the other two would hear him. “I’m not sure what those two are doing here in Aurora but I wouldn’t tell them too much, one of them is a strategist, who knows what he could do with the right information.” 

Yoshinori knits his eyebrows at that, probably not entirely following his thoughts. 

“I mean, they didn’t tell me why they are renting an entire house for  _ weeks  _ and the potion he gave you was really expensive, I’ve seen them on markets before. It would be the best to not retell what happened today at least not as long as we have moved on from here. I doubt that they have any ill intention but I’m not trusting them that easily.” 

“So if Suk doesn’t remember we let it be?”

“Yes, at least for now if that is okay with you. Just to not risk anything. It’s just a gut feeling.”

“Yeah- okay. I trust you on this Jihoon.” 

_ Trust _ . 

Should Yoshinori really trust him? Especially after he had been the main reason why the whole debacle happened. Their trust in him almost cost both their lives. Yet, Yoshinori wasn’t angry at him and not even questioned his reasoning. It felt like blind trust to Jihoon but if the younger had decided to have this kind of trust in him, then Jihoon needed to uphold it and try his best to not fail him. Them. 

“Okay- Good- I’m sorry, this probably a lot after you just woke up.” 

“No, it’s fine really.” The younger laughs and that lifts the stone from his heart a bit. “I’m actually just-”

Yoshinori’s words get cut off when his stomach grumbles and the man in front of him flushes, a hand placed over the stomach. 

“Hungry?” 

That has Jihoon laughing when he hears Yedam yelling through the room, a twinkle in his eyes while he waves with a spatula and is covered in flour. 

What  _ even-  _ They cooked something that hadn’t been in need of flour at all-! Such a mess.

That Jihoon could still laugh at the mess the two made even though he was suspicious of them must have surprised Yoshinori but both of them laughed in unison when the two boys turned to them and presented their food with pride. It looked decent, Jihoon had to give them that but his laugh didn't falter, the way Haruto’s dark hair was suddenly gray was too funny to not laugh about. Yedam’s perplex face combined with his chaotic outer appearance was the cherry on top. 

Maybe they could at least ease their nerves for now and appreciate the food they got served.

The moon was already up and shining bright when even the last soul went to sleep within the house, which gave Jihoon a certain peace of mind when he slowly got up from his bedding on the ground. He let his eyes wander through the almost complete dark room, taking in the barely visible shapes of four bodies breathing. 

_ Good.  _ He tried to conceal the smile forming on his lips when he slowly stood up, trying to be as discreet as possible. With utmost care does he place his blanket down and steps through the room until he finds the backdoor in the dim light, carefully stepping out. 

A faint breeze welcomed him during this cloudless night while stars shone above him and for a moment Jihoon could almost believe the scenery before him was real. 

Almost. Weren’t it for his menu to show up when he gestures it to be, revealing his player information only meant for himself to see. 

And there it was. A little red dot just above a mail symbol and with a smirk he opens it up while slowly distancing himself from the house.

⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅

Waking up was hard. Not because he had slept badly - Hyunsuk had slept absolutely perfectly - but because of the dream he had. Hyunsuk felt the tips of his ears become hot when he thought back at it, turned in his bed and buried his face deeper in the sheets, pulling his legs up to fully morph into a ball of shame. 

He can’t believe he dreamed something like  _ that.  _ Had he no shame? No, Hyunsuk had to shake his head, it was his subconsciousness which had no shame. 

Why on earth would he dream about Yoshinori in such a way? Weren’t they just-  _ friends?  _

That was at least what Hyunsuk tried to tell himself over and over again while trying to ignore the blooming flower inside of his chest, trying to dismiss and extinguish the forming fires dancing on his already aching heart. Yet those roots were slowly engulfing his heart, tightening, squeezing and taking his air away- 

Yeah, Hyunsuk had become bad at pretending that everything was normal between them.

Maybe he was just a coward when it came to feeling too-

“Hyunsuk?” 

He almost shrieked when he felt a warm hand placed on his shoulder while Yoshinori’s soft voice breaks through his dense thoughts, his focus immediately on the man he had just thought about. Why was Yoshinori always the first thing on his mind-?

“Suk?” Yoshinori says his name again and this time he feels the bed dip slightly. “Are you okay?” 

It takes a moment before it finally dawns on Hyunsuk that this was not the guest house they had previously stayed in and neither part of the darkest corner of his dream. He jerked up when the realization hit him and with hectic eyes he scanned the room, trying to make out anything which would give him any kind of detail about his whereabouts-

“Calm down.” 

Yoshinori’s hand held his own, and as if the younger had casted a spell on him, all of Hyunsuk’s attention narrowed down on the healer within seconds. 

“We are safe here.” The younger one reassures him. Hyunsuk gulps and for now he believes the other, even though he can’t hide his way too fast beating heart. What the actual reason was for his heart to rapidly beat like this, it was something Hyunsuk didn’t like to find out.

“Where are we?” 

“Someone saved us out in the woods, two boys to be precise and they let us stay at their rented house for now.” 

Hyunsuk looks at the other and feels like he had run into a wall of cotton candy spiked with the sour taste of lemon. Yoshinori was as soft and caring as ever with him, Hyunsuk’s hand still held and softly traced with a finger while the small smile he got radiated softness all over. Despite that, Yoshinori’s eyes were piercingly strong, an emotion in them Hyunsuk couldn’t pin-point but it gave his image a sour flavour. It might have been worry mirroring in the other’s eyes but he tried to ignore the pain of his arching heart at the thought of making this man so deeply worried.

“I see.” He puts a hand over his heart. It was beating against his ribcage, his mind telling himself to calm down, that he was safe here. 

They hear something rattling behind them and when they look back, Hyunsuk sees a boy sitting on the ground with awful bed hair and eyes trying to squint somewhere Hyunsuk couldn’t follow. It was a funny sight to not say the least. The poor blanket got dragged as well. 

“Is that one-?” 

“Yeah.” Yoshinori laughs when he stands up and waddles  _ cutely  _ over to the boy on the ground who seems to be seriously disorientated but took the hand outstretched to him nonetheless. 

“Thank you.” The boy grumbles, a voice so deep Hyunsuk gasps at hearing it.

“ _ That  _ is low.” 

The boy nods drunkenly from sleep before he stumbles into a chair, a table and later into the other boy who had just come through the door with Jihoon on his trail, both of the newcomers holding the boy before he falls to the ground. 

“Haru-? Are you okay?” 

The second boy - who’s much smaller than the other as Hyunsuk notices - asks worriedly and only gets a grunt before the other stumbles outside.

“Don’t fall into the water-!” 

He hears the other yell after the boys before he scratches his head.

“Are you sure Haruto won’t hurt himself?”

“It’s fine. I think.”

“You  _ think _ ?” Jihoon raises an eyebrow suspiciously and Hyunsuk has to hold his laughter. 

“Yeah- now let's organize the stuff we bought or else we have to carry it for much longer.”

That has Jihoon laughing who seemed almost amused at the way the boy was obviously trying very hard to not show how heavy the things where he bought. Yoshinori hurries over, taking a few things from the boy so he can move freely again and as soon as they put everything done, does the boy bow to show his gratitude. 

“You really don’t have to bow Yedam, it’s fine.”

They laugh together. _Yedam._ Hyunsuk couldn’t help himself but smile a bit at the scene, wondering if this would be a scene of Yoshinori with a younger sibling if he had one. 

Only seconds after their laughter dies down both of them turn to Hyunsuk as if on cue and it takes a few tense seconds before a loud, very overly dramatic gasp from Jihoon rips it apart and Hyunsuk is soon pushed back into the bed by a strong hug, a face buried deep into his shoulder. Hyunsuk tried to pet the younger to tell him that everything was alright but couldn’t even move his hands accordingly. 

“You scared me, you asshole- I thought I lost you.” 

Jihoon’s voice was barely above a whisper yet it sank deep into Hyunsuk’s body and he was sure if there weren’t other people in the room, Jihoon would have cried. 

“I’m sorry.” 

He tried to answer back but Jihoon shook his head in disagreement. 

“You had a panic attack, there is nothing for you to be sorry about.” 

Hyunsuk closed his eyes for a moment, trying to not think about how it had felt to  _ not feel.  _ To be shut out of your own mind for such a long time that Hyunsuk has no recollection of the events whatsoever. It had been a weird sensation to know that Jihoon had spoken to him, guided him somewhere but it had felt so distant, as if looking through the dense fog of old london. 

He had tried to reach out, to feel and touch, to do anything other than staring ahead with a blank stare and a wiped clean brain. 

A cough rips Hyunsuk out of his thoughts. He sees  _ Yedam  _ standing there, tip-toeing as if what he was seeing was making  _ him  _ embarrassed and not Hyunsuk. 

“I don’t want to interrupt your reunion but I think you might be hungry..?”

Yedam points out and Jihoon stifles a laugh into his neck when Hyunsuk’s stomach indeed grumbles. A wave of embarrassment washes over Hyunsuk. His face gets a shade darker when all three begin to laugh at his distress and Hyunsuk swats Jihoon away who smirks at him in a way that makes his eyes roll in annoyance at his best friend’s behaviour. 

They stayed with the boys - namingly Haruto and Yedam - who had been very hospitable and caring, going as far as to restock their items and food, for two more days until they had collectively decided to move on from their little acquaintanceship they had formed. 

Even after the two days of staying with them had Hyunsuk no idea about why Jihoon was so careful around them, what they could potentially do which would be dangerous to them. 

Yedam is a smart kid, no doubt about that but as Hyunsuk learned early on, the boy couldn’t hurt a fly. He went as far as catching every single bug and brought it outside so it could live on. 

Haruto on the other side looked like one of those emo goth kids you eventually got to know during school only to realize that they are some of the nicest people you ever meet, no matter how they dress and behave. And Haruto only  _ looked  _ like this type of boy due to his kind of long black hair, as Hyunsuk assumed. Beneath this fancy wall of hair was a great personality, a soft boy overall. 

So Hyunsuk was a bit lost where the suspicion came from. 

However, Jihoon had normally a good feeling for things which laid far out of Hyunsuks understanding. Yet when he asked  _ why  _ they should be careful, all he got was a shrug which, admittedly, did not help him. 

Hyunsuk still felt a bit sad when they parted ways with the two boys. They were still so young and the thought of them rotting away inside of a game they are stuck in, so they would miss some important parts of their youth- Saddening. 

They turn around one last time to glance at the boys. They stand outside of their little house and wave the moment they see them turn back to them. Smiling. 

Jihoon waves back so does Yoshinori and Hyunsuk following, even though he can practically feel how tense Jihoon is. 

Said one turns to him, just a short glance, before he throws his arms around both Hyunsuk and Yoshinori - which is a bad idea since Yoshinori is indeed taller than they are - and begins to walk with them as if nothing had ever happened. 

Hyunsuk glances at Yoshinori and believes he sees the other glancing back with the same troubled expression though both of them silently agree to not talk about it. 

“To a new adventure!” Jihoon laughs while he leaves the two behind, turning around a bit ahead of them beaming with excitement. “Let’s get this guild going!” 

Yeah, maybe Hyunsuk should lose up a bit, he tells himself when he runs after the other, knowing very well that Yoshinori is behind them after the yelp. They got a head start and Yoshinori would sulk about it later, he already knew, though he knew that for now they were on the right path, no matter what Jihoon had initially suspected to happen. Nothing occurred.

_For now_. Though, that was something Hyunsuk couldn’t have known at that point. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every little interaction will boost my energy to keep this going, so don't hesitate to comment, like and bookmark or visit me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SolreyItIs) and my [ CC](https://curiouscat.me/@SolreyItIs) to talk or see my progress :)


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